Tiltable umbrella



y 1948; w. C. DANIEL v T ILTABLE UMBRELLA Filed July 11, 1946 Patented May 18, 1948 TILTABLE UMBRELLA Walter 0. Daniel, Troy, Ohio, assignor to The Troy Sunshade Company, Troy, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 11, 1946, Serial No. 682,847

2 Claims. {01. 135-46) This invention relates to umbrellas such as garden or beach umbrellas, and more particularly to such umbrellas which include a mounting permitting tilting of the canopy portion from its normal vertical position.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a handle for an umbrella of the above type of simple and strong construction which will provide for, ready tilting of' the umbrella from its vertical position and which will hold the umbrella firmly locked with respect to the lower part of the handle in both vertical and tilted positions. r

Another object is to provide an umbrella handle which will have pivotally connected portions to provide for tilting of the umbrella canopy and which will also have a sleeveadapted for telescoping interlocking engagement with thepivotal connection in all fixed positions of the umbrella.

It is also an object of the invention to provide an umbrella handle as outlined above of such construction that the sleeve is adjustably mounted on one handle section and encloses the interlocking portion of the other handle section in all fixed positions. I

Further objects are to provide such an umbrella handle wherein there is normally no force tending to dislodge the sleeve from its interlocking position and also to provide a. separate mechanism for locking the sleeve in position.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description, the accompanying drawing and the a pended claims. 1

In the drawing, in which like characters of reference designate like parts throughout Fig. 1 is a view in elevation of a tiltable umbrella constructed in aocordance'with'the invention, a tilted position of the umbrella being indicated in dotted lines, and with a portion of the canopy broken away to show the construction of the handle; 7

Fig. 2 is an enlarged View in side elevation of the handle of the umbrella shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a further enlarged view of a'portion of the umbrella handle shown in Fig. 2, the view being partly in vertical sect-ion substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an exploded view in side elevation of the portions of the umbrella handle shown in Fig. 3; g k

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the tongue portion of the adjustable connection between the per- 2 tions of the umbrella handle, as indicated by the line 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view in side elevation, partly broken away, illustrating an intermediate step in the tilting of the umbrella handle;

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary view partly in side elevation and partly in vertical section illustrating the umbrella handle in tilted and locked position;

Fig. 8 is a section through the tongue portion taken substantially on the line 8-8 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 9 is a section taken on the line 9-9 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 10 is an enlarged section taken on the line I 0-40 of Fig. 2 to show the interlocked telescoping assembly of portions of the umbrella handle.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings, the umbrella handle is designated generally by the reference character l5, and the umbrella canopy I6 is provided with the usual supporting ribs ll and runner l8. The umbrella handle is shown as including an upper handle section 20 which supports the umbrella canopy and is provided with a spring stop 2| adapted for cooperation with the runner l8 to hold the canopy in its extended position as shown in Fig. 1. This upper handle section 20 is connected for tilting adjustment to the lower handle section 22, which may for convenience of manufacture and shipping be formed in two parts 23 and 2'4, and a spearpoint 25 is secured to the lower end of the handle for convenience in inserting the handle in supported position in the ground. As shown, the two handle parts 23 and 24 may be telescoped together and interlocked by means such as an inwardly projecting bead or lug26 in the handle part"24 engaging in a cooperating bayonet slot 21 formed in the handle part 23 as shown in Figs. 2 and 10.

The adjustable tiltable connection between handle portions 20 and 22 is best illustrated in Figs. 3 to 9. As shown, the handle portion 20 has secured to its lower end an upper tilter section 30 comprising a cylindrical portion 3| slotted at its lower end to form a fork 32. The upper end 33 of the tilter section 30 is shown as telescoped within the lower end of handle section 20 and secured thereto as by means of a pin or rivet 34. A sleeve 35 is mounted for axial and rotary movement on theportion 3| of tilter section 30, the diiference between the inner radius of this sleeve and the radius of the cylindrical portion 3| being justsufilcient topermit free relative movement, satisfactory results having been obtained, for example, with sleeve 35 formed, of 18-gauge tubing gagement within a bayonet slot in the outer surface of one of the fork arms 32, this slot including an elongated portion 65 parallel to the length of the upper tilter section and a short laterally extending portion 61 adjacent the lower end of the tilter section 30. With this construction, when the sleeve 35 is moved to its downward position in interlocked telescoping relation with the vides a pivotal connection between this tongue and fork. The tongue 44 has its outer surface formed to provide opposite portions cylindrically curved for engagement within sleeve 35 and with the axes of these cylindrically curved portions inclined with respect to each other. The poitions 50-5! on opposite sides of the lower and upper ends, respectively, of the tongue are cylindrically curved about an axis collinear with the axis of lower handle section 22, and their radii are substantially equal to the radius of the cylindrical portion 31 of the upper tilter section 30. The portions 52- -53 are similarly cylindrically curved about the same radii but about an axis inclined with respect to the axis of lower handle section 22, the angle between these axes determining the degree'of tilt of the upper handle section with respectto the lower section,- a suitable anglebeing 30. Tongue '44 is also provided with a slot 55 "adjacent the base of the cylindrically curved portion 53, this slot being formed to receive the edge of sleeve 35. The upper end 56 of tongue 44 is rounded as shown to provide for clearance between the tongue and the similarly rounded base 51 of the "slot in upper tilter section 59 between the two arms "of the fork 32. Also, the lower ends 58 of the fork are rounded, as shown, to conform with the correspondingly rounded shoulders 59 on the lower tilter section adjacent the base of the tongue 44.

The operation of the above construction is most clearly illustrated in Figs. 3, 6 and 7. When the umbrella canopy is to be held in its normal vertical position, the upper and lower handle sections are arranged in collinear relationship, and the sleeve 35 telescopes with'the cylindrically curved portions '50'5| of tongue 44, thus securely holding the tilter sections in straight line relation as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. To tilt the umbrella, it is merely necessary to raise the sleeve 35 sufficiently to clear the upper end of curved portion "50 and expose the pivot pin 45. The upper handle section will then readily tilt under its own weight and that of the umbrella canopy, or may be m'anually tilted, until its axis is substantially in line with the axis of the cylindrically curved tongue portions 5253, Fig. 6 showing the tilter mechanism 'at an intermediate stage of this tilting step. The sleeve 35 may then be moved downwardly into telescoping relation with the tongue portions 5253, thus locking the two tilter sections in tilted relationship as shown in Fig. 6. With the parts in the relative positions shown in Fig. 6, the lower end of sleeve 35 is seated inthe slot 55, and the close telescoping relation of the tongue portions 52- 53 within the sleeve holds the upper and lower handle sections securely in this tilted position.

Means may also be provided for positively locking the sleeve 35 in interlocked relation with tongue 14. Suitable means for this purpose are shown as comprising an inwardly projecting bead or mg 65 on sleeve 35, which may be an inwardly stamped portion of the "sleeve, adapted for 'entongue, it may then be given sufficient rotary motion to move the projection 65 thereon into the lateral slot 61 on the fork. Then when it is desired to change the position of the umbrella, the sleeve may be unlocked by reversing the rotary motion before raising it to expose the pivotal connection for tilting movement.

The invention thus provides a handle for an umbrella which will hold the umbrella firmly and rigidly in the normal vertical position or in a position tilted with respect to the lower part of the handle, and which includes a tiltable connection permitting quick and easy shifting of the umbrella from one position to the other. This connection is made of simple but strong parts and doesnot require springs or like means which may deteriorate from exposure or use. The sleeve member of the tilting connection encloses and protects the connection in allfixed positions, and also it isso arranged that when it is in interlocked position, there is no force tending to disturb or dislodge it, since the action of gravity on it and on the upper part of the umbrella tends only to tighten the interlocked connection. on the other hand, this connection can be easily released for shifting the position of the umbrella by the simple operation of rotating and raising the sleeve as described.

While the forms of apparatus herein described constitutes preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to these precise forms of apparatus, and. that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention which is -defined in the appended claims.

What is claimed 'is:

1. In a tiltable umbrella, the'c'oinbin'ation of an upper handle section, a lower handle section, means providing a pivotal connection between said handle sections and including'a tongue'me'mber extending upwardly from said lower handle section and a cooperating fork extending downwardly from said upper handle section, a sleeve mounted for axial movement on said upper handle section and adapted for relatively close telescoping engagement with said fork when at its limit of downward movement and exposing "said pivotal connection to permit relative movement of said handle section's when at its upper limit of movement, said tongue having its outer surface 'adjacent its lower end on one side and its outer surface adjacent its upper end at "the opposite side "-formed'about'the axis of said lower handle section said handle sections in collinear or tilted relationship.

2. In a tiltable umbrella, the combination of an upper handle section, a lower handle section,

means providing a pivotal connection between said handle sections and including a cylindrical fork extending downwardly from said upper handle section and a cooperating tongue extending upwardly from said lower handle section, a cylindrical sleeve mounted for axial movement on said upper handle section and adapted for relatively close telescoping engagement with said fork when at its limit of downward movement and exposing said pivotal connection to permit relative movement of said handle sections when at its upper limit of movement, said tongue having its outer surface adjacent its lower end on one side and its outer surface adjacent its upper end at the opposite side cylindrically curved about the axis of said lower handle section and about substantially the same radius of curvature as said fork, said tongue having its outer surface adjacent its upper end on said first named side and its outer surface adjacent its lower end on the opposite side cylindrically curved about an axis inclined with respect to the axis of said lower handle section but about substantially the same radius of curvature as WALTER. c. DANIEL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,224,533 Guglielmone May 1, 1917 1,881,990 Zitzer Oct. 11, 1932 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 50,146 Denmark Apr. 15, 1935 756,598 France Sept. 25, 1933 

